Jun 22, 2017 - Driving the Great Barrier Reef road to Cape Tribulation

Today we decided to rent a car and drive the Great Barrier Reef road up to Cape Tribulation, which is the furthest point you can drive to. We rented an automatic which neither of us have ever driven before, surprisingly it wasn't too bad but they have the indicators on the wrong side so every time we meant to signal we would turn the windscreen wipers on! The drive was beautiful, long stretches of coastal road, sugar cane plantations, rainforests and rivers. We stopped at a place called Palm Cove which was stunning with a lovely esplanade...

Jun 21, 2017 - Diving on The Great Barrier Reef

Our day started very early and very wet as we headed towards the 6.2 million dollar boat called Evolution. The boat was amazing! It had three levels the lower two inside and the top deck outside, with bean bags to relax on. We arrived at our first stop which was Saxon reef after a very bumpy 80 minute journey. Luckily we had taken some sea sick tablets as we were warned in advance! The reef was beautiful and protected the boat from the strong waves which meant the seas were fairly calm by this point. We were in the first group to dive. The...

Jun 19, 2017 - The start of our Aussie adventure!

We arrived in Cairns at 7.00am after a long nights travel. Our hostel was very cute and even had a swimming pool. We decided to have a walk around the town which was very beautiful. We both expected Cairns to be built up but it definitely has a little town feeling. It was so nice seeing brands we recognised that we thought it was only right to get a McDonalds breakfast and Subway for lunch. We found a supermarket that was better than any back at home, we are excited about being able to cook our own food for a few days, at these prices we...

Jun 15, 2017 - 15th June, 2017. Allora to Aspley

15/6/2017. Allora to Aspley I had a great sleep, which is just as well, as we had a busy day. After arriving home at 12.20pm, we only stopped for a quick lunch, and now for dinner. The van is nearly unpacked and most things put away. It's a big job. I also started packing things away in my new drawers. While we were away, we had drawers installed in place of kitchen cupboards , which makes life much easier. We had a great holiday and realise how lucky we are to be able to do this, but gee, it's great to be home.

Jun 13, 2017 - 13th June, 2017. Wee Waa to Goondiwindi

13/6/2017. Wee waa to Goondiwindi It's 4.45pm, 22 degrees, and I'm sitting outside the van typing. This is only the second time since we left Anne and Ian on the 7th May that we have been able to sit out, and we are so enjoying it. We're at a free camp at Goondiwindi at Redmond Park, which the Council are trying out for 6 months, it having been operating for 2 months now. Last night there were 12 vans/motor homes here and tonight there are 9, but it's still early. We arrived at 3.30 and got the last legal spot - yesterday they were all...

Jun 13, 2017 - 14th June, 2017. Goondiwindi to Allora

14/6/2017. Goondiwindi to Allora A nice free camp, but very noisy for those who are not good sleepers. For others (not mentioning his name), it was not a problem. Another couple of vehicles came in later at night, making a total of 11 or 12. We did go into the town and spend some money, but didn't come back and put the receipt in the box as they ask. We had lovely blue sky until we stopped at Inglewood for lunch, and a cool wind was starting to blow by then, so we sat in the van and ate. As we continued north, the sky clouded over and...

May 23, 2017 - Pottsville to home

What a great break we have had; today we left to go back to the "de-clutter, chuck, throw, and give away" in preparation for our move to Taigum late this year. Off we head, 1 and 3/4 hrs up the 110km black bitumen - I can think of better roads to travel on but when you head for home, the fastest way is usually the "best" way. Hopefully we'll get in another trip and yet another "tripe tales" before we move in to our new Taigum Villa late this year. Apow - (that's Wik Mungkan for "Goodbye" - the language of the Aurukun First Nation people"

May 16, 2017 - trip to Barney View and Boonah

Tues 16th May I had told Noel about the area near Bigriggen called Barney View which we discovered when staying at Bigriggen last year. Today he would like to do a drive to check it out. After a fist-full of photos were recorded we headed to Boonah for a poke around and to have lunch. Back to 18 Mile via Wyaralong Dam and Beaudesert. Interesting that today the dam had no water going over the spillway - it was quite dry. The dam has a capacity of approx 300 billion cans of coke (103,000 million litres) and cost the equivalent of 74 million...

May 15, 2017 - trip to Stinson Park

Mon 15th May The vet came today and the weaner seems to be doing ok. We thought it was a good idea today to explore the next valley (Christmas Ck) so off we toodled (is that a word?) in 2 cars (6 of us) up the ridge to the top - check for latest messages and emails - then down the other side to Hillview and turn S to head up the valley. At the end of the good road, was Stinson Park where all the rescue efforts were co-ordinated for the rescue and recovery of the passengers in a plane crash. Flying from Archerfield Bne to Sydney, the Stinson...

May 14, 2017 - "Art in the Olives" festival

Sun 14th May Today we enjoyed an unexpected treat. Just a half km down the road was a “Arts in the Olives” festival day. It featured a large number of stalls among the olive trees with wares for sale, art on show, art and craft workshops, and entertainment at a couple of locations. The stalls were both sides of the creek with footbridges spanning the creek. An amazing event which Noel and Julie didn’t even realise was on until we all arrived. Great “planning”. We walked along the road to the olive grove - smart move, as there were a couple...

May 13, 2017 - Tamborine for day - PYC

Sat 13th May Our friends Noel and Julie (Jan’s med secretary job-share work partner from years gone by) were using the homestead for 6 nights for a break and were hosting visits from various members of their church Bible Study group. Knowing we were on the “travel road”, they asked us to join them for some of that time. It is a huge brick house with 6 bedrooms and able to sleep 16. We slept in the caravan but spent all our time with the others in the house. It was enjoyable using the big rumpus room at night with the blazing fire to keep us...

May 12, 2017 - to 18 Mile Homestead (sth of Beaudesert)

Fri 12th May In the morning the family headed off to school and work and we went back up the hill to their house to hitch up the van. On the way up we stopped at the parking lot for Moss Lookout but after walking for about 300m we abandoned it because the presence of morning fog would preclude seeing anything from the lookout anyway. But the short walk was still worth it to see the enormous amount of moss and lichen covering everything by and on the path. All different shades of green. Wow!! Time to move on from this lovely area and head...